In the prior art, various types of film material cutting apparatus have been proposed utilizing a traveling cutter. U.S. Pat. No. 4,960,022 to Chuang discloses a plastic film cutter comprising a supporting board, a sliding furrow formed in the top of the supporting board and a slidable cutting means having a lower sliding seat insertable into the sliding furrow. In Chuang, rollers are provided for engaging and maintaining the plastic film in a tensioned state above the upper surface of the plastic film.
Other patents disclosing film cutters include U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,036,740 to Tsai, 5,044,241 to Labrecque and 4,787,284 to Chen.
However, prior art devices using a cutting blade are ineffective to handle or accommodate variations in film material thickness, such as bunched or doubled over film. Likewise, apparatus such as disclosed in Labrecque involve complex mechanical interaction to achieve effective cutting.
In response to these deficiencies, a need has developed to provide an effective yet simple film cutting apparatus which overcomes deficiencies in prior art designs.
In response to this need, the present invention provides a simple yet effective film cutting apparatus design which severs film material easily and efficiently.